--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Express only that which cannot be…" description: "\"Express only that which cannot be expressed. Leave it unexpressed)\" — Maurice Blanchot" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/maurice-blanchot-12571_express_express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expres_2268383.png" --- # Express only that which cannot be expressed. Leave it… ![“Express only that which cannot be expressed. Leave it unexpressed)” quote by Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/maurice-blanchot-12571_express_express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expres_2268383.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/maurice-blanchot-12571_express_express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expres_2268383.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/maurice-blanchot-12571_express_express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expres_2268383.png) > “Express only that which cannot be expressed. Leave it unexpressed)” [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote urges acknowledging the limits of language and allowing the unsayable to remain untouched. **In simple terms:** Accept that some things cannot be spoken. Key Takeaway Respect silence where words fail. Themes language silence limits expression Mood contemplative melancholic Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - creative writing - philosophical reflection - art criticism Key Concepts philosophy literary theory existentialism Questions to Reflect On - How do you handle ideas that resist articulation? - When is silence more powerful than speech? A Different Perspective It may frustrate those seeking concrete answers. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Express](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/express/) [Express Expressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/express-expressed-5247123/) [Expressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/expressed/) [Funny](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Leave Unexpressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/leave-unexpressed-5247122/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Success](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/success/) [Unexpressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unexpressed-247396/) ## Related quotes > [As a Third World citizen, I always feel that I need to express my point of view. Sometimes the points of view of Third…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/as-a-third-world-citizen-i-always-feel-that-i-need-to-express-my/) [Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-gonzalez-inarritu/) > [What's the function of poetry? It's to express general truths, to connect with the reader and make him think: 'Wow, I've experienced that, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giles-andreae/what-s-the-function-of-poetry-it-s-to-express-general-truths-to/) [Giles Andreae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giles-andreae/) > [“Certain abilities in you sometimes yearn to be expressed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sunday-adelaja/certain-abilities-in-you-sometimes-yearn-to-be-expressed/) [Sunday Adelaja](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sunday-adelaja/) > [I allowed Rick Santorum to express views and ideas that the American people never would have had expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/foster-friess/i-allowed-rick-santorum-to-express-views-and-ideas-that-the-american/) [Foster Friess](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/foster-friess/) > [The unexpressed is always of greater value than the expressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zona-gale/the-unexpressed-is-always-of-greater-value-than-the-expressed/) [Zona Gale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zona-gale/) > [There is a wealth of unexpressed love in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hopkins/there-is-a-wealth-of-unexpressed-love-in-the-world/) [Arthur Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hopkins/) > [“There was within him a deep unexpressed conviction that all would be well, but that one must not trust to this and still less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leo-tolstoy/there-was-within-him-a-deep-unexpressed-conviction-that-all-would-be/) [Leo Tolstoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leo-tolstoy/) > [Unexpressed emotions will never die. They are buried alive and will come forth later in uglier ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/unexpressed-emotions-will-never-die-they-are-buried-alive-and-will/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [Letters, like compilation tapes, were really vehicles for unexpressed emotions and she was clearly putting far too much time and energy into them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-nicholls/letters-like-compilation-tapes-were-really-vehicles-for-unexpressed/) [David Nicholls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-nicholls/) > [Love unexpressed now may never be expressed later](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/love-unexpressed-now-may-never-be-expressed-later/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Art gives those unexpressed parts of ourselves permission to be felt and spoken.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaeda-dewalt/art-gives-those-unexpressed-parts-of-ourselves-permission-to-be-felt/) [Jaeda DeWalt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaeda-dewalt/) > [There is no such thing as gratitude unexpressed. If it is unexpressed, it is plain, old-fashioned ingratitude.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-breault/there-is-no-such-thing-as-gratitude-unexpressed-if-it-is-unexpressed/) [Robert Breault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-breault/) > [Somehow we always say the least to those we love eternally and hope our thoughts will be understood although they are unexpressed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/somehow-we-always-say-the-least-to-those-we-love-eternally-and-hope/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [There is a wealth of unexpressed love in the world. It is one of the chief causes of sorrow evoked by death: what might…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-hopkins/there-is-a-wealth-of-unexpressed-love-in-the-world-it-is-one-of-the/) [Arthur Hopkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-hopkins/) > [All good writing leaves something unexpressed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian-nestell-bovee/all-good-writing-leaves-something-unexpressed/) [Christian Nestell Bovee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian-nestell-bovee/) ## More by Maurice Blanchot > [“How not to search that space where, for a time span lasting from dusk to dawn, two beings have no other reason to exist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/how-not-to-search-that-space-where-for-a-time-span-lasting-from-dusk/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [But my silence is real. If I hid it from you, you would find it again a little farther on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/but-my-silence-is-real-if-i-hid-it-from-you-you-would-find-it-again-a/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [“As the German expression has it, the last judgement is the youngest day, and it is a day surpassing all days. Not that judgement…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/as-the-german-expression-has-it-the-last-judgement-is-the-youngest/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [“Writing is not destined to leave traces, but to erase, by traces, all traces, to disappear in the fragmentary space of writing more definitely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/writing-is-not-destined-to-leave-traces-but-to-erase-by-traces-all/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [“If the sculptor uses stone and if the road builder also uses stone, the first uses it in a way that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/if-the-sculptor-uses-stone-and-if-the-road-builder-also-uses-stone/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [A writer who writes, ''I am alone''... can be considered rather comical. It is comical for a man to recognize his solitude by addressing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/a-writer-who-writes-i-am-alone-can-be-considered-rather-comical-it-is/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [“I went in; I closed the door. I sat down on the bed. Blackest space extended before me. I was not in this blackness,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/i-went-in-i-closed-the-door-i-sat-down-on-the-bed-blackest-space/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [“But this is the rule, and there is no way to free oneself of it: as soon as the thought has arisen, it must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/but-this-is-the-rule-and-there-is-no-way-to-free-oneself-of-it-as/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [The Journal is not essentially a confession, a story about oneself. It is a Memorial. What does the writer have to remember? Himself, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/the-journal-is-not-essentially-a-confession-a-story-about-oneself-it/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [We can never put enough distance between ourselves and what we love. To think that God is, is still to think of him as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/we-can-never-put-enough-distance-between-ourselves-and-what-we-love/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [A writer never reads his work. For him, it is the unreadable, a secret, and he cannot remain face to face with it. A…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/a-writer-never-reads-his-work-for-him-it-is-the-unreadable-a-secret/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [Lovers of painting and lovers of music are people who openly display their preference like a delectable ailment that isolates them and makes them…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/lovers-of-painting-and-lovers-of-music-are-people-who-openly-display/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [“When Kafka allows a friend to understand that he writes because otherwise he would go mad, he knows that writing is madness already, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/when-kafka-allows-a-friend-to-understand-that-he-writes-because/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [“The anonymous puts the name in place, leaves it empty, as if the name were there only to let itself be passed through because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/the-anonymous-puts-the-name-in-place-leaves-it-empty-as-if-the-name/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) > [If nothing were substituted for everything, it would still be too much and too little.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/if-nothing-were-substituted-for-everything-it-would-still-be-too-much/) [Maurice Blanchot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) [Explore all 42 Maurice Blanchot quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/) ## More Express quotes > [On the stage, the characters express themselves more through words than images. So the arguments of the characters and the tension between characters -…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-alda/on-the-stage-the-characters-express-themselves-more-through-words/) [Alan Alda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-alda/) > [Pat OBrien knows nothing. Hes on the Hell express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-corddry/pat-obrien-knows-nothing-hes-on-the-hell-express/) [Rob Corddry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-corddry/) > [Those with a gift for action, for their part, often express contempt for those whose gifts are more reflective. Men of action like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-ignatieff/those-with-a-gift-for-action-for-their-part-often-express-contempt/) [Michael Ignatieff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-ignatieff/) > [I was tired of just kind of being on that express train, whatever you want to call it, so to speak. It just sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-morrison/i-was-tired-of-just-kind-of-being-on-that-express-train-whatever-you/) [John Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-morrison/) > [I'm sure there was some part of his soul was intrinsically happy, but he probably had to go through some permutations to really get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/i-m-sure-there-was-some-part-of-his-soul-was-intrinsically-happy-but/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) > [Tears are words that can't express…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ritu-ghatourey/tears-are-words-that-can-t-express/) [Ritu Ghatourey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ritu-ghatourey/) > [In many ways, the young are more religiously minded than the older generations. I think it's the flip side of an age of individualism.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vincent-nichols/in-many-ways-the-young-are-more-religiously-minded-than-the-older/) [Vincent Nichols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vincent-nichols/) > [You will express yourself in your house whether you want to or not.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elsie-de-wolfe/you-will-express-yourself-in-your-house-whether-you-want-to-or-not/) [Elsie de Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elsie-de-wolfe/) > [Chinese citizens have never had the right to really express their opinions; in the constitution it says you can, but in the real world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ai-weiwei/chinese-citizens-have-never-had-the-right-to-really-express-their/) [Ai Weiwei](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ai-weiwei/) > [I can get where some scientists would say comedians are crazy. What you have to understand: A lot of comedians are dealing with a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-hart/i-can-get-where-some-scientists-would-say-comedians-are-crazy-what/) [Kevin Hart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-hart/) > [Every man must have the right fearlessly to think independently and express his opinion about what he knows, what he has personally thought about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mstislav-rostropovich/every-man-must-have-the-right-fearlessly-to-think-independently-and/) [Mstislav Rostropovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mstislav-rostropovich/) > [As Secretary of Housing, I do have to express alarm, signal the alarm if you will, that the potential for homelessness to grow is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-cisneros/as-secretary-of-housing-i-do-have-to-express-alarm-signal-the-alarm/) [Henry Cisneros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-cisneros/) > [The goal for me has always been to learn how to express myself in radio and to have fun doing it and work with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-feldman/the-goal-for-me-has-always-been-to-learn-how-to-express-myself-in/) [Michael Feldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-feldman/) > [Pat O'Brien knows nothing. He's on the Hell express.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-corddry/pat-o-brien-knows-nothing-he-s-on-the-hell-express/) [Rob Corddry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-corddry/) > [One of the challenges is creating characters. I am trying to compose my sentences to express epic events happening to ordinary people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrea-hirata/one-of-the-challenges-is-creating-characters-i-am-trying-to-compose/) [Andrea Hirata](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrea-hirata/) [Browse all 570 Express quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/express/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Express only that which cannot be expressed. Leave it unexpressed)", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Maurice Blanchot" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expressed-leave-it-unexpressed/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Express" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expressed-leave-it-unexpressed/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/maurice-blanchot-12571_express_express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expres_2268383.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/maurice-blanchot-12571_express_express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expres_2268383.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/562/maurice-blanchot-12571_express_express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expres_2268383.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Express only that which cannot be expressed. Leave it unexpressed)” — Maurice Blanchot", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Maurice Blanchot", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maurice-blanchot/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Express only that which cannot be...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expressed-leave-it-unexpressed/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maurice-blanchot/express-only-that-which-cannot-be-expressed-leave-it-unexpressed/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```